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A hidden requirement of being Ren’s gunner is that you have to know how to run away— and run away fast.
Ren’s cryptic silent stalker, (un)affectionately nicknamed “Blue”, is also annoyingly good at running. So Martyn has to be better at escaping if he wants to keep his crew alive.
The group whizzes through the galaxy on their Dogwarts freighter. Ren’s the pilot, and Martyn is his right hand man. They have a whole crew to help them keep the ship functioning (even if Etho’s mysterious presence causes cameras to malfunction), and Martyn ends up being in charge of strategy because he’s the best at it.
Ren’s one of the most wanted creatures in the galaxy, because of course he is. He’s the freaking Red King for Tsuki’s sake— one half of the pair who dominated the Exterra scene ten years ago, one half of the pair seeking to dominate the Exterra scene now. He’s too recognisable, the handsome Lykos with thick brown fur, signature blue shades, and metal prosthetics. The Red King is a phoenix reborn from ashes, a star created from the remnants of a supernova. Ren’s the bounty hunters’ favourite target because too many organisations will pay good money to see his head lolling on the floor. Ren’s a superstar that was snuffed out then returned brighter than ever, so people want to extinguish him for good. And Martyn won’t let that happen.
And so they run.
They never remain in one place for long. Martyn studies the coordinates, then Ren comes along and charts their route. Skizz keeps an eye on Exterra news and updates them on which planets the races are held on. Etho lurks around, because that’s what he does, but he silently fixes the ship and comes up with ingenious ideas to increase engine speed. Big B handles the resources and occasionally helps Martyn with the maps. Impulse is out and about as their spy. It’s dangerous work, but he’s willing.
Despite the danger, Ren and Martyn can’t help but continue to join Exterra races. They want the points, they want to move up the ranks, they want to prove themselves to the galaxy. Every landing is carefully planned to avoid being hijacked by the bounty hunters. After every race, they do a few interviews, then sneak away. Ren doesn’t fully trust the Exterra staff (as he should) so they maintain a polite distance. The staff scurry around them, anxious but respectful, in awe yet terrified. When people ask for photographs, Martyn scoffs and drags Ren away. They can’t afford to be distracted.
In this fashion, they manage to evade most bounty hunters, but their nefarious old friend Blue remains unstoppable. They’re a ruthless and mysterious force who can anticipate Dogwarts’ next move. Ren treats Blue like they’re his nemesis. Impulse swears he’s seen Blue at the bounty hunters’ meeting but they don’t seem very aligned with the hunters. No, Blue is an entity living on a whole different sphere. They thirst for Ren’s blood, they don’t work with other hunters, and they want him for their own. Out of all the hunters, Blue is the one who’s gotten the closest to them. Not close enough to see them face-to-face, but too close for comfort.
Blue appears to have friends who back them up, but they usually operate solo in their glider. They’re a good pilot, but not as good as Ren. They’re also surprisingly accurate with guns, and Martyn’s pissed. As the Red King’s current gunner, Martyn has an ego to protect. Sure, Martyn knows he’s not the legendary Queen of Hearts (despite the rumours that he’s a transgender False Symmetry), but he’s pretty damn good. And he meshes well with Ren. Synergy is more important than skill.
Martyn barely gets a moment to relax. The bounty hunters are always after them, Blue ahead of all the other hunters, but Ren doesn’t want to go into hiding anymore. And Martyn knows what he’s getting into when he vows to be Ren’s partner.
(He remembers the icy night on the freighter when they first met, all steel and metal, the coldness of Ren’s prosthetic hand when he touched it for the first time. Now Ren’s hand is a comforting presence on Martyn’s shoulder. When Ren laces his fingers with Martyn’s, Martyn doesn’t shiver anymore.)
But Blue isn’t the only hunter threatening them. Sometimes several hunters find them at the same time, shoving each other aside to catch their prize, and that makes running away even more difficult. Blue is definitely the most competitive and the most selfish. Blue is a shadow, an enigma, ruthless and almost desperate in their pursuits. Martyn remembers seeing Blue stab a hunter about to shoot Ren, before lunging towards Ren themselves. Blue’s goal is crystal clear— they want the bounty for themselves. And they would eradicate anything and anyone in their path. Ren’s terrified of Blue and has recurring nightmares. Martyn’s furious at Blue, but in front of Ren, he’s nothing but comforting and calm.
So Martyn takes Ren’s hand, and they run.
Once, Blue slips up. Or maybe Martyn has a stroke of genius. Either way, Dogwarts tracks down where Blue’s set up camp. Martyn’s had enough of running away— what if he starts the chase for once? Unfortunately, Blue has already retreated by the time Dogwarts gets there, but it’s quickly evidenced that they escaped in a hurry. They find empty packets of rations and supplies in a trash pile. Martyn’s originally ecstatic at finally tracking down Blue, but sobers up when he realizes there’s not much information they can find. The rations are sourced from the local fuel station. The supplies are generic ones purchased from the intergalactic ConCorp company and they have an outlet on every single planet, so that’s not helpful at all.
But Ren sees something that the rest can’t.
It looks like a worn, broken strap— from a helmet or a pair of goggles, perhaps? Ren sees it lying on the ground at the trash pile. He picks it up, stares at it— and then instantly freezes. His face is drawn and grim like he’s seen a ghost. The atmosphere becomes deadly tense.
“How are you feeling, Ren?” Martyn carefully asks.
“Blue’s coming for all of us.” When Ren speaks, it’s in a trembling, whispery voice. It’s as if he’s not in control of his body. Ren’s shaking, but Martyn doesn’t know whether it’s from fear or anger— or maybe both. This is the first time Martyn’s seen such a terrified Ren, and it feels like his heart has been carved out by the swift flick of an icy blade.
“This… stalker wants to kill all of us. I’m sure of it.” Ren chokes out his words in short, intense spurts. “They want to kill everyone I love— indeed, everyone I ever loved. I don’t know why, but they have a personal vendetta against me. Blue managed to find Doc and no one’s ever gotten close.” Ren’s eyes well with tears and Martyn’s heart shatters. Ren takes a shuddering breath. “In fact, I-I think Blue was the one who—”
Martyn throws his arms around Ren, effectively cutting him off. “Shh, don’t think about that,” Martyn soothes Ren. “Ren, we’re not going anywhere. We’re Dogwarts— there’s no way Blue is getting us that easily.” Martyn ends his sentence with a derisive laugh, hoping to shift to a lighthearted tone, but Ren just sobs and buries his face in Martyn’s shoulder. Martyn feels Ren’s wet tears stain the fabric of his clothes, and his heart bursts. From pain, from his love for Ren, from his fury towards the stalker for causing so much suffering. The white-hot anger sears Martyn’s skin and seeps deep in his bones. His arm trembles with rage, but he raises it and brushes Ren’s fur with steady, gentle strokes. Martyn’s soft around Ren, but he shows no mercy to his enemies.
Martyn takes Ren’s hand, barely stops himself from kissing his knuckles, and they run.
It’s a cat and mouse chase. It’s a dangerous dance that they’re playing. To Martyn’s frustration, Blue manages to find them again and again. Dogwarts just can’t shake off their stalker who relentlessly orbits around them like a moon to a planet.
One evening, Blue finally strikes.
They go for Impulse first. Martyn hears the scream and rushes to Impulse’s defence. A laser is at Impulse’s exposed neck and Martyn sees red.
“Oh no you don’t!” Martyn screams as he pounces towards Blue. Impulse escapes and runs to call for help. Blue pauses to access the situation. No hint of a face can be seen in that impenetrable visor. Sometimes Martyn doubts if it’s actually a person underneath.
“So you’re with the spy. And I used to like you,” Blue says tonelessly. They’re using a voice changer and their voice sounds deep and distorted. Martyn has no idea what the fuck Blue is saying and he honestly doesn’t care. Martyn shoots, but Blue easily slices his bullets with their laser. So Martyn goes for close combat and fuck, bad decision. Martyn can already tell Blue is faster, stronger, and has more stamina.
“Where’s your captain?” Blue demands, and Martyn spits in their face. It’s covered by a helmet, but it’s the thought that counts. Martyn swings his fist again, but Blue captures it easily. He’s then brutally flung to the ground, the air knocked out of his lungs. Martyn blinks and tries to stand up, but his body feels like it’s stretched into different dimensions. Warm liquid trickles down his face. Martyn attempts to move his limbs but it feels like gravity’s firmly strapped him to the ground. Martyn’s hand reaches for— he doesn’t know what he’s reaching for. A weapon? His communicator? Ren’s hand?
Martyn’s vision is spinning. No, he has to remain awake. He has to protect Ren. For him. Because how can Martyn not?
And then—
“NOBODY HURTS MY GUNNER!”
Ren barges into the scene and Martyn doesn’t even have a moment to breathe in relief. Martyn can’t really see what’s going on— he’s too dizzy and his vision is obscured by his blue bioneos dripping down his face, but he knows Ren’s fighting Blue. There are gunshots. And Impulse is yelling.
“Ren—” Martyn attempts to get out, but now his voice is leaving him. Martyn thinks he sees something take off into the sky. Is that Blue retreating? Is Ren alive?
“Martyn,” comes Ren’s voice, wobbly and anguished but he’s alive, and Martyn blearily lifts his head. Ren’s face is bleeding, but it doesn’t look too bad. Martyn feels a pair of strong arms around his body, and manages to smile. Because it’s Ren. Ren’s here.
Martyn stretches a hand towards Ren—
He doesn’t reach him. Because his consciousness finally gives out.
When Martyn comes to, it’s Ren’s turn to rage.
“Unforgivable,” Ren snarls, shaking in his anger, “hurting my family like that. Hurting my gunner. I’ll go for Blue. I’ll make sure they never come back to hurt any of us. I’ll cut them down, blow them up, I’ll do anything to stop them. And yes,” Ren takes a deep breath, “that means killing them.”
Martyn knows Ren’s a pacifist and too kind for his own good, so to see him act aggressively was chilling. Ren’s sharp teeth glints in the dim light. He’s shirtless as he applies ice packs to the bruises he got from fighting Blue. Martyn idly traces the shape of Ren’s torso, notes the smooth lines and curves, and of course the red bioneos tattoo on his back. (Martyn thinks it’s completely baffling and even disrespectful that people think he’s the Queen of Hearts when they clearly have different bioneos colours.)
Ren is a kind man, but the past years have not been the kindest to him. When faced with the bleakest conditions, Ren learned to survive, to attack, to hide and to protect. He spent ages building up his current life and his current family, and nothing will take them away from him.
So they scheme. Instead of running away from the problem, they’re running towards it. Martyn argues that it’s risky. Ren argues that it’s necessary.
Ren takes Martyn’s hand, gives it a reassuring squeeze, and they run.
The plan is deceptively simple. Ren will be the bait. They’ll lure Blue out, then finish them off. But of course things are never simple, and now Ren is struggling to pilot as numerous hunters chase them, with Blue being the closest to them. Martyn’s been instructed to shoot at the other hunters but not Blue, because they need to single Blue out for the final blow. Nausea churns in Martyn’s stomach, probably from the cramped quarters and the rapid turns, but he tries to keep his hand steady. In the main Dogwarts freighter, Skizz gives them updates.
They’re starting to shake off the other hunters— good. “Don’t shoot,” Ren instructs Martyn as they approach a narrow valley with pillars of stone clustered close to each other. Ren’s excellent at sharp turns and precise movements (after all, Ren grew up racing in the streets), but Blue is good as well.
“We’re close,” Skizz warns, and Martyn’s heart thumps. Ren’s deliberately letting Blue catch up with them. Martyn quickly glances at the bomb in Ren’s hand. Any moment now.
Ren says he wants to be the one to throw the bomb because Blue won’t expect it. Because Ren’s a pilot, and he needs both hands to steer. Martyn will have to quickly take over Ren’s job, but it’s alright. He and Ren are pretty much synchronised now after their many Exterra races.
“Now!” Skizz screams, and Ren throws the bomb. Martyn pulls hard and their glider shoots straight up.
They hear the explosion. It’s horrific.
As in: the force violently propels them forward and presses down on them so hard that they can barely breathe. Ren’s forehead smacks against a wall. Martyn holds back the urge to vomit. Even with the earmuffs, his ears are ringing. It’s all fire and heat outside the glass. It’s like a supernova. The blistering flames almost swallow them up and Martyn wrestles with the controls to escape.
In the rearview mirror, Martyn can see that Ren’s staring, firelight dancing in his eyes; horrified, fascinated, yet relieved. “There’s no way they can survive that,” Ren says, his mouth dry. “No one can.”
His words feel heavy. Martyn knows why, but doesn’t comment. He continues to fly their glider.
“Ren,” Martyn says, “remember that the past is in the past.”
“I know,” Ren says, but it doesn’t sound like he believes it. Martyn can’t fault him. After all, Ren hates bombs. And he hates blowing ships up. But like Ren said— it’s necessary.
There’s a pause, then Ren adds, “I sure hope it worked.”
Martyn shrugs. “They’re probably dead. Or will be dead.”
Their moment is interrupted by Skizz commanding them to return. While Blue’s glider is up in flames, the other hunters are catching up. Ren pilots, Martyn guns, and the two swiftly carve their way back to the main freighter. The burnt remnants of Blue’s glider fall to the bottom of the valley. Ren and Martyn are both silent.
The Dogwarts freighter gears itself up for another flight, another escape into the stratosphere. Skizz and Impulse are in charge of piloting and gunning, so Ren and Martyn can afford to take a break. Martyn keeps an eye on the wreck of Blue’s glider, and curses loudly.
“Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me,” he groans when a moving figure emerges from under a bent wing. Blue’s armour is battered and torn in some places, but they’re miraculously upright and alive. This Blue fella’s probably really lucky or really experienced with being blown up (or maybe both). “Blue truly has to be a ghost or a robot. How are they still here?!”
Ren breathes out, his expression tight and guarded. It’s one of those rare times when Martyn can’t read his emotions. “At least this will scare them off for good.”
“And now we’ve got to run again.” Martyn stares out of the window. “Man, I really hoped we would get rid of Blue.”
Ren sighs. “I know this is a dangerous life, Martyn. I failed. And back then…” Ren takes a shuddering breath. “I hesitated with the bomb. I missed it slightly. Which is likely why Blue is still here.”
Despite everything, warmth tinges in Martyn’s chest. Yes, it’s aggravating that Ren’s gone soft at the last second, but that’s why Martyn loves him. Kind, stupid Ren, who still can’t bear to kill the person he fears the most, and just gives them a good scare.
“You fool,” Martyn laughs, but they both know he doesn’t mean it. “You old dog. And stop apologising!” Martyn places his hands on Ren’s shoulders and shakes him. “It’s not your fault that this is happening to you. I know what a life with you means, and I’m choosing you, Ren.”
Martyn’s words are raw and sincere. With the back of his hand, Martyn brushes the sweat off Ren’s face.
“If you’re a runaway, then I’ll run with you,” Martyn vows, his voice serious and earnest. “If you consider yourself a stray, I’ll be a stray with you.”
Ren leans forward and buries his face in the crook of Martyn’s neck. His fingers lace with Martyn’s. “Thank you for saying that, Martyn. I-I really don’t know what I’ll do without you or Dogwarts.”
“It’s us against the world,” Martyn murmurs against Ren’s hair.
“It’s us against the world,” Ren echoes. Even though his nemesis is still alive, Ren feels strangely at peace. He has Dogwarts and he has Martyn.
And in spite of it all, Ren truly believes that they’ll all be fine.
Ren turns to look back at Blue just to make sure they’re actually alive. Sure enough, Blue is shifting around, and finally stands up. They’re staring at the Dogwarts freighter, which is now rising up. Ominous. The dot that is Blue becomes smaller and smaller. As their physical distance increases, Ren feels the tension seep away from his body. Even if the bomb doesn’t end up killing Blue, it’s bound to scar them. Ren knows explosions do that. Hopefully Blue won’t come close to them ever again.
Ren shivers. Blue makes him feel a cocktail of emotions— terror, guilt, fear, rage, and self-hatred. Somehow, his gaze lands on Blue again, who is now smaller than ever. Ren waits for Blue to do something— to collapse, to run, to scream in frustration, anything.
But Blue continues to stand, and stand, and stare, and stand— and stays.